A Remnant of a Distant World
by KNIGH7DRAGON3
Summary: A man, immortal due to a strange circumstance, wonders the wastes. He finds purpose in breathing life back into a dead world. After fulfilling that purpose, all his hard work is reduced to ash by his homeland's ancient enemy. By a twist of fate, he is taken to a new world, and finds a new purpose, that is essentially the same as the old. Save the world from it's own evil. TTW FO4
1. Chapter 1

_**ATTENTION! Updated, with fairly significant rewrites**_

_**Wondering Alone Amongst the Remnants of an Old World**_

_**I own nothing except original content **_

XxXxXxX

I breathed out a ragged sigh as I watched the ashes of the old world burn again. I resigned myself to death as I watched those godforsaken bombs fall upon the world for a second time. All of my effort and energy, wasted. All the blood I'd spilt to bring life back into the struggling corpse of civilization, futile. All the friends I had buried, for naught.

"What a fucking waste," I spat out bitterly.

As I watched the wall of nuclear fire approach, I looked back on my long life.

I'd been called many things by the people of the wastelands. Vault Dweller shortly after I left my birthplace, Vault 101 in search of my father. Then as word of my deeds spread, as people heard of me wiping out the festering evil in Tenpenny Tower, of bringing power, and food to the ghouls in the Underworld, and putting GNR back on the air, I became the Lone Wonderer. Then, I began to spread the teachings of Jesus across the Capital, to try and give the wastelanders hope and purpose, I became the Machine Gun Preacher, for I wielded a Bible in one hand, and a machine gun in the other. Then, I activated Project Purity, and brought clean water to the Wasteland, put down the Enclave, and wiped out the remaining Super Mutants, and I became The Wasteland Messiah.

By this point, I was powerful beyond all imagination. My PipPad showed 11's across my SPECIAL stats, I was 'Level 50' and all of my skills were maxed.

To put into perspective, a 7 in a SPECIAL, and 50 in a skill was peak human ability. Somehow, I had mutated to become far more than human.

Then, after helping the Brotherhood start a new government, and bring law back to the Capital, I decided to head West. To the Mojave. To start a new life, free from the burden of fame. And free from the land that had taken so much from me. And so, I walked.

Somewhere along the way, I realized that I no longer aged. I was immune to radiation. I no longer needed food, nor water, nor sleep. After some digging through my PipPad, I learned what had happened. Apparently, I had gained a couple of 'traits' that synergize incredibly well. Solar Powered, which made my body automatically repair itself when exposed to solar radiation, Rad Resist and Absorb, which are both kind of name on the tin, and Ghoulish, which made me immune to rad damage, as well as immortal. Ordinarily, Ghoulish would have turned me into a rotting slab of walking cancer, but with Solar Powered healing me constantly, as well as Resist and Absorb helping reduce the amount of rads my body took in, I was essentially an un-ageing, but otherwise normal looking human. Then I discovered that my body now no longer required sustenance, because I now solely needed an hour in direct sunlight per week.

That damn sure made the trip to the Mojave a hell of a lot easier. No more stopping to hunt for food, or looking for safe drinking water, or searching for a safe place to spend the night. All I needed was my weapons, caps and armor. And even that wasn't much of a problem. I had found some kind of infinite storage cube on the alien mothership right before I slaughtered its crew and blew it the fuck up. No more worrying about how much I could carry. If I liked it, into the cube it went. I could probably arm half the country with its contents.

So, across the remains of the States I walked. Helping those I came across who needed it. Never staying in one town for long. Always moving.

Then, I encountered true evil once again.

Caesar's Legion.

Town burned down. Bodies affixed to crosses. Children tortured to death. Women enslaved.

I killed every single Legionnaire I came across. But I never took the fight to main camps. I swore to myself when I left DC that I'd stay out of the spotlight.

So, I marched onwards. Ignoring all my instincts telling to kill them all before they could hurt anyone else. I walked around their territory, finally ended up in the Mojave.

I made my way to Freeside, and walked up to the gates of New Vegas, only to find out about the credit check. Knowing that just whipping out the caps, entering Vegas would bring unwanted attention to myself, I decided to go to a small community called Primm, and take up a job as a courier. Then I became known as Courier Six, though I just went by Six. It was a good job. Easy. I picked up packages, dropped them off, then went home and tinkered with my guns, or armor, and then did it again. I made good friends with the Gun Runners, and got access to their good stock. I made inroads with the NCR and the Kings. Hell, I even spent some time amongst the Super Mutants of Jacobstown. I repaired a broken eyebot that had made its way to Primm, and gave Rex a new brain. That mut reminded me a lot of my faithful companion Dogmeat, before he was killed by a stray bullet in a firefight with the Legion. Just one more reason to hate the bastards.

For the first time in many years, I knew peace. Only the occasional firefight with a group of Fiends or Legionnaires. But that all changed when I accepted a contract to deliver a platinum casino chip to the Lucky 38 in Vegas. I was just outside of Goodsprings, having a bit of a rest in the sun, when a shitstain named Benny snuck up behind me, and put a 9mm in my head. Of course, it didn't really do much more than knock my silly for a bit, but Benny was under the impression I was dead. So, he and his Khan goons robbed me of the chip and buried me in a shallow grave.

I guess it could be said that he made a _grave _mistake, because Courier Six never fails a contract.

After a few hours, I dug my ass out my shallow grave, and went into Goodsprings to try and find out who he was, and where to find him. It took some doing, but eventually I was pointed in the direction of of the Tops in Vegas.

I swung by Primm to let my boss know what happened, only to find it under siege by Powder Gangers. Heh, they were mere fodder before the katana I had taken from the corpse of an old samurai on the alien ship. After clearing them out, reprogramming the protectron in the Vicky and Vance, and letting my boss know what happened, I made my way to Vegas.

Upon arrival, I was immediately accosted by a high-ranking member of the Legion and offered 'a pardon' and was instructed to meet with Caesar in his camp. I promptly show him how stupid he was by tossing the medallion on the ground, and pissing on it, and then on him. He became enraged and attacked me. All it took was one clean punch, and he was down permanently. I ignored House's summons, and made my way straight to the Tops, where I scared the shit out of Benny by eviscerating his bodyguards with a butter knife, and forced him to tell me _everything._ That's when I learned of his plans to take over the Mojave with an army of suped up robots.

I decided to take that idea.

After '_disposing'_ of Benny, and talking to Yes-man, I decided I would wipe out all the current families of the Strip, hire the Khans to make medications, make peace with the Boomers, and find the Brotherhood of Steel.

After making peace and alliances, I marched on Fortification Hill, under cover of darkness, and using my AquaBoy trait to stay hidden under water. Once the first light of day began to peak through the sky, I fell upon them like a natural disaster. Only women and children were spared. My blade separated head from shoulders as bullets pinged off my reinforced, samurai inspired power armor. Limbs were removed with surgical precision as machete blades skimmed off the metal suit. Chests caved in and skulls were turned to pulp under my heavy hydraulically strengthened fists. It took less than an hour to turn the once great army into a red cloud floating down the river. Then, the Praetorians, Legate Launius, and Caesar himself saw fit to try to bring me down. I stowed my sword, and unequipped my power armor, a equipped my Riot Armor I had retrieved from the Divide. Then I drew my favorite weapons. A pair of BFRs in .45-70. I called them Methuselah and Prometheus (a/n named after 2 of the oldest trees ever found.) Arrayed against me were the baddest motherfuckers in the Mojave. Supposedly, one Praetorian could solo a platoon of NCR soldiers. Legate Launius was said to be able to fight and entire army alone. And Caesar would have been able to talk that same army out of their clothes.

They didn't last 10 minutes.

After divesting all the slaves of their collars, and packing away everything of value in the camp, I activated the Securitron army, and marched on the Strip. I slaughtered the Omertas of Gomorra, decimated the White Glove Society, and wiped out the Chairmen. Then I walked into the Lucky 38, killed House, and took over the Strip. Then, I formed an alliance with the NCR, and told them I had wiped out the Legion. So, the Dam no longer threatened, I began to rebuild a true civilization. Medicine was distributed. People were educated as best we could. The Super Mutants and ghouls worked mines, and humans and robots rebuilt manufacturing facilities. My goal was to build a railroad from Vegas to DC.

It was slow going at first. It took ten years to lay the first 10 miles of track. But as news spread, more and more people came to work on the project. 5 years later, we laid the last piece of track connecting the NCR to the Mojave. Then we followed the Old 10 all the way to Jacksonville Florida. That took the better part of 15 years, but we made it. Along the way, we discovered more settlements, recruited more people to work the mines and plantations, scavenged old tracks, and found new mines. Then from Jacksonville, we followed 95 straight up to DC. That only took 5 years.

35 years to build a railroad connecting the two biggest remaining centers of civilization in the States.

4 years later, the NCR and RDC, the Republic of DC decided to unite, to form the NRA, the New Republic of America, and hold an election for president. Of course, I was practically worshipped by the people at this point, so I was 'elected' with out even putting my name forth. The first thing I did as the 1st President of the NRA was to have new hospitals and schools built. Then, with the help of modified power armor, and Marcus's Super Mutants, we eradicated the deathclaws, tunnelers, cazadors and nightstalkers. The wastelands made a safer place, we started new railways, connecting the former capitals of all the states to DC and Shady Sands. Slowly but surely, we were recolonizing all of the lower 48.

Shortly after I was elected for the 5th time, the railroads were completed, and all the people of the former US were United under one banner. The world was flourishing again. Lakes were cleaned by replicas of Project Purity. Farms and plantations were started. Hell, we even started to build new cars. I had built a small standing army, meant to combat any remaining deathclaws or other nasties out there. Life was good again.

Then a new vault opened. 111.

A woman named Nora was the sole survivor of the vault. I met with her, and she told me her story. Her baby boy was kidnapped, and her husband murdered. She _begged _me to find him.

I promised her I would.

After doing some digging, I found the rumors of the Institute and their synths. It didn't take long for me to find a way into the Institute. Once inside, I was immediately set upon by squads of Coursers. They fell like flies. I captured the leader of the Institute, a man who went by Father. It didn't take long for me to make him _agree_ to release any synth who wished it in return for reuniting him with his mother. I also forced him to halt production of any new synths, and focus on more important advancements. New medicines and medical treatments. Advanced prosthetics. Ways to scrub atmospheric radiation. Hopefully, with their help, the world could be returned to mostly normal.

There were some other kind of important things. A cloning facility found in a theme park of all things. That helped bring back non-mutated farm animals.

Finding the Big MT and getting the Think Tank on my side.

Cleansing the Sierra Madre of the Cloud and putting the Ghosts out of their misery.

Saving the people of Far Harbor and Arcadia.

Dismantling the nuclear missiles remaining in the Appalachian Mountains, and clearing out the Scorched and the last Scorch Beast Queen.

Life in the NRA was good. It was returning to a pre-war norm.

After my 10th term was over, my successor, mine and Nora's granddaughter, decided it was time to expand.

50 years later, the railroads reached the remnants of the Panama Canal. The newly elected President asked me to travel on one of the 'warships' we had built to the islands of Hawaii, and see if there were any people living there.

It was on this trip that disaster struck. Fortunately, I was the only 'human' on board, for I decided to crew the ship only with robots, because nobody knew how dangerous the seas were.

That was a good decision.

We were within sight of the island when a massive ghoul whale, a good 500-foot-long, with the ability to fire massive blasts of concussive sounds, nearly blew us out of the water, and crippled the ship. The only reason it didn't kill me, and sink the ship is I had the forethought o rig up some depth charges with mininukes. I got as lucky hit and killed the thing, and limped the ship into a harbor on the big island, and I was able to unload the whole crew, and all my cargo, before the ship sank, leaving me trapped. My only recourse was to search for people.

There were none.

So, only robots for company, I built a house. I grew food, mostly just to have something to do. I explored the ruins of the old cities. Hiked the mountain trails. Just… relaxed. It was actually a pretty good life. For 300 years, I lived alone. I watched as the water slowly lost its radioactivity. As unmutated fish slowly made a comeback. The reef began to flourish with life once more. The air tastes cleaner than I'd ever known it to before. I was proud that the country I had built was continuing my work even in my absence.

It was during my time in solitude that I discovered something incredible. Magic. Not hocus pocus and wand waving magic, but the ability to 'enchant' weapons and armor with various effects. My personal favorites were the Bottomless enchantment, the Two-shot, and the FeatherFall. I spent a huge amount of time enchanting all of my gear with various effects, programming the PipPad's equip feature with various 'outfits' that I could equip at a moments notice instead of having to equip each piece individually

Then an actual warship, with guns and crew by Super Munitions and humans alike anchored in my harbor.

The first person to make landfall was a Mutie I recognized instantly. I rushed down to the beach to greet him.

"Marcus, what the hell are you doing here?"

He looked thoroughly shocked to see me. "Thomas?! Your alive?"

I told him the story, and he updated me on what had happened while I was gone.

They had tried to expand internationally via ships, but after the first two were sunk by whales similar to the one that had almost killed me, they had built true warships. It took 60 years, but they managed to eradicate the pests. They started building floating purifying plants and setting them adrift, cleaning the air and sea. They had made contact with the remnants of Europe, Japan, and Russia. They tried China, but were forcefully rebuffed. The NRA had become the UKE, the United Kingdom of Earth. World trade was happening once again. The world was mostly healed, though China still worried me. So, I boarded the ship, the UKV Six, and went back to the mainland.

I lived in peace among the people for 500 more years. Until one day, on the cliff overlooking the city I had called home for the last 20 years, I saw the tell-tale sign of incoming ballistic missiles. China had launched them.

XxXxXxX

My vision cleared as I came back to reality, seeing the wall of nuclear fire rushing towards me.

Almost 800 years prosperity, erased in an instant because some dickheads couldn't let go of the past.

I let out a sigh again. The fire was close enough I could feel the heat.

I closed my eyes, and prayed to God.

"Lord, forgive them, for they know not what they do." I prayed for forgiveness for the ones who had killed my country for the second time.

My final prayer whispered, I saw a bright flash of light, felt a bit of heat, and then the world went dark.

XxXxXxX

I heard the beeping of a heart monitor. Smelt the smell of disinfectant. Felt the coolness of hospital air. Saw the bright sterile white walls.

'_What the hell?' _I though groggily.

The monitor spiked, and a woman I had not noticed spoke up in faintly accented English.

"Sir, are you awake?"

I tried to speak, but found my throat far too dry, so I just nodded, eyes still closed. She handed me a glass of water, from which I took a long drag.

"Sir, I've paged the doctor to let him know you're awake. Is there anything I can get you?"

I tried to reply but found my voice still didn't want work, so I mimed writing something in the air, so she handed me a small white board and a dry erase marker.

**Where am I? **I wrote, and showed it to her.

"You are in the Vale General Hospital. You were found unconscious in a crater, mostly in injured, but in a coma, in the Forever Fall Forest."

I blinked rapidly, confused as hell.

'_Vale, Forever Fall? Where the fuck are those places? Never heard of them.'_

I erased my question and wrote a new one.

**What province?**

"Province? If you mean kingdom, we are Vale."

I tried to speak again, but I still couldn't get more than a croak. My throat must have been damaged. I wrote a new question.

**Time? **

She looked down at her watch. "10 o'clock in the morning," she replied cheerfully.

'_Good, I should be able to heal up if I can get her to take me outside. My legs a bit stiff and weak from laying here.'_

**Clear skies? Sunny?**

She nodded, looking at me strangely. "Yes sir. It's clear skies for the rest of the week."

**Good. Wheelchair, take me outside please. Need sunlight.**

Another curious look. "I'm sorry sir, but I can't move you until the doctor okay's it."

**Please? Is important. Will heal. Solar Powered.**

Realization dawned on her face. "Oh okay, your Semblance must heal you when in direct sunlight. In that case, let's get you in a wheelchair and in the sun."

'_What in the samhell is a semblance? Whatever, as long as she takes my outside, I'll find out later.'_

It only took a few moments to get me unhooked from everything, and wheeled outside. Immediately, I could feel the sun working on me, healing my body's atrophy, and fixing my throat. I felt a pop as my throat was completely healed, and I started to take a deep breath only to choke on a foul stench in the air.

'_Fossil fuels?!'_ I then began to actually look at my surroundings. Glass buildings, petroleum fueled cars, and people with animal parts. _'I've got a feeling that I'm not in Kansas anymore.'_ I began to panic a bit before, I calmed my self.

"Miss, there should have been a small tablet and a metal cube on my person. Do you know where they are."

She nodded. I do. They are in a cabinet in your room. Would you like them? We tried to get an ID or an emergency contact off your odd scroll, but couldn't get it to unlock."

'_Thank you Think Tank. Biometric locks are awesome.'_

"That would be wonderful." I smile at her gratefully, and she blushed a bit, before walking back into the hospital. I could feel that the sun had almost completely healed me. As soon as I figured out where the hell I was, I could go home. Good thing I had heavily customized my PipPad to have mapped the entire globe, save China, and even then I could use it to navigate back to a mapped area.

A few minutes passed, and the pretty nurse, who I had just noticed had fox ears and snow white hair, handed me my stuff. I unlocked my PipPad, and pulled my map.

**Location unknown.**

'_Well fuck.'_

As I was contemplating my next move, I heard a strange jingle coming from the nurse's pocket. She pulled out a piece of glass about the size of my PipPad, and put it to her ear. "Yes doctor?"

'_Wait, is that a phone? I can connect that to my PipPad and spoof its OS. I'll be able to connect to whatever network it's on and figure out what the hell is going on.'_

"Yes, sir, we'll be right in." She pressed a finger to the glass and went to put in her pocket.

"Excuse me miss, would you mind terribly much if I borrowed your scroll for just a moment?"

She looked at me, shrugged and handed it to me. I found the charge port, and pulled the universal connection wire from my PipPad, and connected it to her scroll. A second later, the PipPad dinged, and let me know it now had network functionality. I unplugged it, and handed her back her scroll, as I pulled up my map, and zoomed all the way out.

The map was most definitely not of Earth. It was labeled Remnant.

I was numb to the world, trying to process the information that I was on a different _planet. _

"Hello, I am Doctor Crim Son, and this is Headmaster Ozpin."

I looked up to see a man wearing a doctor's coat, with flaming red hair, and another, with silver, wearing a nice 3-piece suit. I nodded in greeting to each in turn.

"Hello, I am Headmaster Ozpin, but you can call me Ozpin. So, I was wondering if you could give me your name, and maybe enlighten me as to how a man ends up in the bottom of a 50 foot crater in the Foreverfall Forest, and why you don't appear on ANY country's databases? Its as if you don't exist at all."

I looked at the man scrutinizingly, trying to sus him out. He continued to stare back unflinchingly.

'_What do I have to lose? I mean, even if he tries to lock me up and experiment on me, I can just bust out.'_

I shrugged, seeing no harm in telling the man my story.

XxXxXxX

I leaned back on my bed, exhausted. "That's my story, front to back, cover to cover, Ozpin." The man hummed in response.

"Yes, I can see the problem. You are a man out of place, and out of time. 1000 years old, give or take, but you don't look a day over 17." He hummed again. "I have an idea Mr. Thomas. You see, our world is besieged by creatures of pure malice called Grimm. They can only be combated by the Huntsmen. Brave men and women who dedicate themselves to the good fight, in whatever form that may take, much like yourself. I run a school that trains the future guardians of humanity. How would you like to take up that mantel?"

I answered without hesitation. "Fuck it, I'm in. When do I start?"

I could hear the grin in his voice. "Most excellent. You start in one month."

XxXxXxX

**I know it's not the next chapter of EGS, but this freaking plot bunny wouldn't leave me be. Like it, hate it, want it to burn in hell? Leave me a review. Peace!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I own nothing except original content. **

**XxXxXxX **

I snapped another book shut, and rubbed my eyes, feeling a headache coming on.

'_So much shit I have to learn all about. Aura. Semblances. Grimm. Mythology. History. Faunus.'_

I dropped my head with a heavy thud on the table in front of me. I sighed, as I felt someone enter the bubble of my Perception. I heard the clicking of heels as they rounded the corner into the library. I looked up to see Glynda Goodwitch. God, if women looked like that back home, I'd probably have had far more kids.

"Hello Mr. Six. How goes your research?"

I slammed my head back on the desk.

"Glynda, I've told you, call me either Tom or Six. And it is going. I've almost finished the reading. Should be done by tomorrow."

The blonde schoolteacher shook her head. "That would be inappropriate Mr. Six, as is calling your teacher by her first name," she responded, a bit of reprimand in her voice.

I scoffed and replied, "Glynda, I am far too old to call a pretty young lady like yourself anything other than her first name."

A very faint blush colored her cheeks as she responded "Mr. Six, I am your teacher, and a decade older than you. That is highly inappropriate."

I snapped my head up quickly to look at her.

"Wait, didn't Ozzy tell you my story?" I asked in shock.

She looked at me curiously. "He told me that you came from the wastes. That's about it."

I shrugged and told the same story I'd told Ozpin.

XxXxXxX

Glynda just stared at me in abject shock.

I smiled ruefully at her. "Quite a shocking tale, right?"

She nodded dumbly.

I stood up and began to walk away. "Well it was good seeing you again Glynda, but I'm going to take a walk now."

'_Well that is 4 people in this world who know my story. That nurse, Dr. Son, Ozzy and Glynda.' _I shrugged. Not like they can do anything to me.

I wondered aimlessly around campus for a while, before walking out to the gardens and finding a nice tree to nap in.

'_Tomorrow is orientation, and Tuesday is initiation. Should be a breeze. I'll worry about reading up on aura and semblances after initiation_.

I settled in and closed my eyes.

XxXxXxX

The sound of an explosion woke me from my slumber. I jumped down out of my tree, Prometheus and Methuselah drawn, VATS on, searching for the source of the explosion. My eyes locked on a small girl, apparently named Ruby Rose, slowly flying through the air, slightly smoking. Activating the teleport function of VATS, I appeared behind her, and caught her around the waist with one arm and held her tightly to my side, then hit the ground, sliding to a halt, Prometheus at the ready, eyes scanning for her attacker.

"Are you alright Ms. Rose? Who attacked you?"

She stammered out a shy reply, "I-I'm fine. It was just an accidental Dust explosion. A-and thanks for catching me, but y-you can let me go. I wasn't attacked."

I looked at her, and noticed she was barely even singed, and thoroughly red in the face. I slowly let her touch the ground, then released her from my hold, then holstered Prometheus.

"You sure you're okay, you don't appear to be burned, and your eyes aren't overly dilated, so not much of a chance of a concussion. Your breathing sound normal, so no collapsed lung or broken ribs. I don't know how you are mostly unharmed, an explosion that could send you flying that far would have been sufficiently powerful to nearly pulp your innards."

She nodded slowly. "I'm perfectly fine. I may not look it but I'm pretty durable. But more importantly, how did you catch me? You were nowhere near me when I exploded. Can you teleport?" I then saw her eyes lock on my pistols. Her face lit up and she began to rapid fire questions like a toddler on a sugar high. "Are those your weapons what caliber are they what propellant do you use what is their secondary mode did you make them is that real gold engraving what are their names do you have any more weapons can I hold them?" She began almost vibrating in place, eyes lit up in joy.

'_Oh hey, a fellow weapons nut. And she is absolutely adorable. I guess I can indulge her.'_

I chuckled and patted her on the head. "A bit of a weapon nerd, huh?" She looked at me a bit sheepishly. "Hehehe, don't worry about it Red, I know the feeling. Now to answer your questions in order. I am the baddest motherfucker in the land, yes I can, yes they are, .45-70, smokeless powder, they don't have one, no I did not make them, as they are mementos of some very brave men I fought alongside, yes, its real gold, they are Prometheus and Methuselah, I have many more weapons, and I can let you hold them after orientation." I ruffled her hair, which earned a small pout. "Now, we ought to make our way to the auditorium." She nodded, and we began to converse a bit as we walked.

"How did you know my name?"

I looked at her curiously. "What do you mean?"

"When you caught me, you called me Ms. Rose. How did you know my name?"

'_Ah, shit, I forgot to wait until she told me her name before calling her by it. Damn you, VATS.'_

"I'm just awesome like that. I'll even tell you mine since I know yours. The name's Thomas Six. But you can call me either Tom or Six. So, where are you from?" I could tell she noticed my very unsubtle dodge of her question from the pout on her face, but she rolled with it.

"I'm from a small Island named Patch. Its pretty small, not many people live there, but it has its own combat school named Signal. I was supposed to graduate in 2 years, but the Headmaster saw me kicking a thief's butt, and offered me a spot here at Beacon. What about you?"

'_Combat school? These people send children to school specifically to learn how to fight? Damn, that's hardcore.'_

"Eh, I'm from nowhere you'd have ever heard of. As far as combat school, I've never been. Guess you could say I've graduated the School of Hardknocks. So, you graduated early? How old does that make you Red? 14? 15?" Again, she pouted at me, noticing the dodge.

"I'm 15 your information. You really don't like to give out information about yourself, do you?"

I chuckled, and patted her on the head again. "Can't say as though I do, Red. I always tend to keep to myself, but I don't mind sharing with people I trust." I side-eyed her. "Maybe, once I get to know you better, and I know I can trust you, ill tell you all there is to tell." About this time, we rounded the corner, and found the auditorium.

A tall blonde with striking violet eyes waved to Ruby across the crowd, and yelled "RUBES! I SAVED YOU A SEAT!"

Ruby looked up at me, and said "That's my sister Yang. I'm going you go sit with her. You want to sit with us?" There was a bit of hopefulness in her eyes. I really hated to disappoint her, but…

I gave her another headpat, and said "Sorry Red, but I really can't handle crowds. I'm gonna find a corner to post up in. I'll be more than happy to meet your sister after orientation though." She looked a little sad at that, but nodded and then walked away. I then scanned the room for a good corner I could post up in where I could see the door, and no one would be behind me.

'_Ah, there is one. And wouldn't you know it, the corner had to be taken.'_

Leaning against the wall, slit amber eyes flicking back and forth, posture slightly tense.

'_Why in the hell is her bow flicking around like that?'_

Then it dawned on me, she was a faunus. I shrugged, and walked over and leaned up next to her. I could see her tense up even more, and reach for her weapon, some kind of large cleaver. I gave her a slight nod, and turned my attention to the stage where Ozpin had just walked out.

"I am standing here for a reason you know. I am trying to avoid people." I could hear the anger in her voice, along with a slight hiss.

'_Slit amber eyes, short twitchy ears, a bit of a hiss when angered. Gotta be a cat faunus. Thank god I decide to read that book on identifying them.'_

"Take it easy kitty-cat, I'm here for a reason too. Best view in the house. Clear view of the stage, both exits, and nobody behind me." I continued to look at Ozpin, only barely listening to his lackluster speech about wasted energy or some shit even as I felt her freeze beside me.

She choked out a shocked "How did you know?! I was trying to keep it hidden!"

I chuckled. "Kitty-cat, you did a decent job. If I was literally anybody else, I would have never known. But I am a might more Perceptive than most people. Don't worry though. I won't rat you out." I gave her a side long glance. "I do think it would be a shame if you continued to hide your heritage." I flashed her a grin. "You are gorgeous as is, but I bet you would be downright jaw-dropping if you didn't hide them. I can guarantee nobody will give you trouble, and even if they do… well, lest just say I really don't like bigots." That was a bit of an understatement. I'd personally beat the hell out of some anti-mutant protesters in the early days of the NRA. "But that's just my opinion." I shrugged, and put my hands my pockets. She didn't reply, just resolutely looked forward, though I could make out a slight blush, and a thoughtful look on her face.

'_Good, she's thinking about it. Its never good to hide who you are.'_

Just then, Ozpin wrapped up his speech, and dismissed us, telling us that initiation was to take place at 8 in the morning, on the cliff behind the school. I quickly toggled VATS to get the cat-girl's name.

"It was nice talking to you Ms. Belladonna. You have a pleasant evening, and I hope you give some thought what I said." I turned around and walked away, toward the showers, and gave her a wave over my shoulders.

XxXxXxX

I walked into the communal shower, and unequipped all of my gear, and began to wash myself.

"Ahhhhhh, this is the life." I sighed as I let the almost scalding water roll down my body. 400 years without running water and proper soap will make you forever properly appreciate the heaven of a good hot shower. As I lathered the soap across my body, I felt the light ridges of the numerous scars that marred my flesh. Bullet wounds. Burns. Claw marks. Cuts. Shrapnel wounds. Even a slice across my abs where the Deathclaw Empress nearly sliced me in half.

I heard a feminine gasp. '_That's right, i forgot Beacon is completely co-ed.'_ I turned to look, ignoring my total nakedness, and saw a woman, with long red hair, and strikingly green eyes dressed in only a towel, looking my body up and down, with a look of horror and pity on her face. I gave a bit of a chuckle, and went back to lathering myself up. Another quick toggle of VATS, and I found her name was Pyrrha Nikos.

"Come now Ms. Nikos, surely I'm not that ugly?" She flushed heavily, and began to stammer a flustered apology, but I interrupted her. "I'm joking Ms. Nikos. I am well aware of the state my body is in. Feel free to talk as you shower. I'm sure you have some questions."

I heard the sound of a towel being hung on the towel rod, and she turned on her shower. "What's your name?" she asked tentatively.

"My name is Thomas Six, but you can call me Tom or Six if you like."

A few moments of silence. "Tom… how… how did you get those scars?" came the almost whispered question.

"A lot of bad people were doing a lot of bad things. They needed to be stopped, so I stepped up to the plate." I finished washing my long, jet black hair, and tied in back in a low ponytail, then just let the water run over my body, letting it wash away the day's stress.

"Why didn't your aura stop you from getting that injured?"

I looked over at her curiously, ignoring the way she flushed and tried to hide herself, not that it worked well, what with her fairly large bust and all. "What do you mean 'aura'? That's just a myth. Nothing more than a fairy tale." I was beginning to regret my choice to put off reading the books on aura. I had just assumed it was some religious mumbo jumbo, but now I wasn't so sure.

She looked at me in abject shock. "You mean your aura isn't unlocked?! How have you survived all those wounds?!"

I let out a good hard laugh. "Pyrrha, you don't mind if I call you that do you? I'm gonna assume not, seeing as how we've seen each other naked. Pyrrha, I have no clue what aura is, but I can assure you I don't need it to survive. I am very durable, and the sunlight heals me." She blushed a deep red at the reminder of our current states of dress, but asked another question.

"Would you like me to unlock your aura for you?" she asked shyly. "It's a fairly… intimate thing, unlocking the power of another's soul, but I cannot in good conscience let you go into initiation tomorrow without it."

I shrugged. "If you want. I won't ask for something like that, but I won't stop you."

She nodded. "Very well." Then, suddenly seeming unbothered by our shared nudity, she stepped close to me, just shy of pressing herself against me. She placed her left hand on my cheek, her right over my heart, and stared deep into my eyes. Time seemed to lose all meaning as her emerald green orbs, connected with my eyes the color of freshly spilt blood. I felt _something _tangible pass between us, and connect us together in way that can't be put into words. Then, she began to speak, the words echoing in the empty showers almost ethereally, and resonating deep within me, as if they spoke directly to my soul.

**"For you have achieved immortality by your own deeds. You became a paragon of virtue and glory, and in the process, rose above all. You are limitless in potential, unimpeded by the boundaries of humanity. I release your soul, and by my hand guide thee."** She slumped against me in exhaustion, unlocking my aura apparently having taken a tremendous amount of energy.

I ignored the way her toned body pressed against mine, and lowered her to the ground, and leaned her against the wall, as I felt my own body react to the unleashing of my soul. I felt the familiar burn of deep healing, my body shifting as my aura healed the damage done to it over the years. Then I dropped to my knees as I began to burn deeper than ever before. I felt my flesh and bones begin to shift and stretch as it healed damage done by years of malnutrition. Then I began to scream in pain as my entire body began to feel like I had been dipped in acid. It was even healing the damage done to my genes by years of exposure to radiation. I heard the rapid pounding of footsteps, but couldn't react, the pain far too intense. Then my PipPad went mad with the familiar sound of rolling drums denoting a level up. Over and over again. Then I heard the pair of footsteps rush into the shower, and a familiar voice shouted my name in concern.

"Tom?! What's wrong?!" I could hear the panic in her voice, but the pain was still too great, and I couldn't answer, but thankfully I heard Pyrrha sit up and address the two other people in the room with us.

"I don't know what happened! All I did was unlock his aura! I mean, his aura is absolutely enormous, and his aria was a strange, but everything when just like the books say it is supposed to!"

A second voice spoke up. "Ruby, go get the Headmaster or Ms. Goodwitch." She sounded like the girl who had shouted at Ruby in the auditorium. I felt her press her hand to my forehead, then quickly draw back with a hiss of pain. "Ruby, go now! He's burning up!" A whoosh of wind, and the sound of long, rapid strides left the bathroom. "Nikos, help me! We need to get him under cold water, now!"

A moment passed, and the pain seemed to intensify, as the two girls, the goddesses they were, drug me over to the nearest shower head, and turned the cold on full blast. They gasped, as the water seemingly boiled on contact, and my pores began to weep blood, staining the water red. I felt sharp pieces of metal moving below my skin making their way to the surface, and a few fleshy plops as wads of cancerous flesh expelled themselves from my body. Then the soft tinkling of metal hitting ceramic was heard as all the bullet fragments and shrapnel my body had collected over the years was ejected. The pain subsided, and I passed out to the sounds of frantic shouts of panic, and the rolling of drums.

XxXxXxX

I awoke to the sound of a heart monitor. I sat up in the bed, and groaned still feeling a bit sore, but better than I had in a long time. "Son of a bitch, did anybody get the number on that deathclaw? Jesus fuck, I feel like hell."

I heard a gasp, and then a familiar voice spoke. "Tom?! Oh, thank Oum you are okay! I was so afraid I had hurt you!" I looked to my side to see the teary redhead looking at me, relief evident on her face. "How are you?"

I moved around a bit, taking stock of my body. Everything seemed in order, nothing out of place or malfunctioning. Gasping a bit, I reached down to feel for my favorite tool. "Oh, thank god they're still there." I looked over at Pyrrha, and replied, "Yeah I am fine. All good. Never better. How long was I out?"

She looked down at her scroll. "Only an hour or so."

I nodded. "Do you know where my PipPad and Cube are?" She nodded, and walked over to the cabinet and retrieved them for me.

"Your scroll was ringing off the hook for most of the hour, but nobody could figure out how to answer it."

I nodded. "Yeah, I have a feeling I know what it was." I unlocked it, and opened the Status screen. "What the hell?!"

'_Why in the fuck am I level 499 now?! I thought 50 was the cap!' _I quickly flipped over to the perks and discovered the culprit.

_**Aura, the Light of Your Soul.**_

_**You transcended humanity long ago, but your body and soul wouldn't have been able to withstand the force of your true strength, so your power sealed itself. But now, unbound and unshackled, your potential for growth is unlimited.**_

_**Level cap removed; backlog of Experience awarded. 1 SPECIAL point, and 1 perk point awarded per level up. Skill level cap removed; 20 points granted per level up.**_

That was broken as hell, but what was really shocking, was the next perk.

_**Semblance – True Likeness **_

_**Your capacity to learn by seeing is truly remarkable. You gained Solar Powered by being bathed in the blood of Herbert, and Ghoulish from living with Ghouls. Your soul is uniquely malleable because of this.**_

_**You can spend a perk point to perfectly and permanently copy someone's semblance, as long as you have had skin contact with them.**_

**Currently available Semblances available for purchase**

**Likeness of Ruby – Roses in the Wind.**

**Run like the Wind, and leave a trail of rose petals floating behind you.**

**Likeness of Yang – Burning Berserker.**

**All damage taken is split evenly among all your stats. Side note, gain an aura of fire, and your eyes change color.**

**Likeness of Pyrrha – Magnesis**

**Manipulate the magnetic bonds in all forms of metal, and control them like puppets.**

**Likeness of Glynda – The Good Witchcraft.**

**Direct manipulation of matter through the use of magic circles and Dust.**

**Likeness of Ozpin – Kaleidoscope.**

**Utilize true Magic to reach across the barriers of time and space, and gain knowledge and energy from all of your alternate selves.**

I immediately grabbed all of them except Ozpin's, because I had no desire to fuck with the fabric of reality until I had gotten a handle on my new power. Then I looked at my SPECIAL menu. 449 points to spend 7 ways. I decide to just go even across the board. 64 points in each stat, with one extra left, so I just decided to save it. So, my SPECIALs at 75, I swiped over to my skills, and was rather shocked to see a bunch of skills changed, added or removed.

Guns, Explosives, Energy Weapons, Melee, and Unarmed were all rolled into Combat, and the extra points were refunded. Speech and Barter were unified under Speech. Repair became Smithing. Lockpick, Sneak, and Survival became Rogue. Science and Medicine were under just Science. I now had a skill called Aura, that denoted my aura control, efficiency and regen rate. Semblance denoted my skill with my Semblances.

I put points into Aura and Semblance to get them up to 100, and so was left with 9,580 skill points. I bumped all of my skills to 1000, then put an extra thousand each in Combat, Aura and Semblance, saving the remaining 280 point for a rainy day.

**Combat – 2000**

**Science – 1000**

**Speech – 1000**

**Rogue – 1000**

**Aura – 2000**

**Semblance – 2000**

**Smithing - 1000 **

'_Jesus, if this is the kind of boost aura normally gives you, this world must be full of absolute monsters.' _I shook the thought from my head, and locked my PipPad back up, then looked up at Pyrrha, only to see Ruby and her sister, who a quick VATS toggle told me was named Yang Xiao Long, walk through the door. I gave them a cheerful grin.

"What's up guys?" A black and red human missile impacted my chest at speeds that had to be close to Mach 1, driving the breath out of me. "Easy there Red, I'm a bit sore." I could feel my shirt becoming wet with her tears, so I wrapped an arm around and stroked her back.

"Tom, I was so scared," she choked out past her tears. "There was so much blood, then when I got back with the Headmaster, there was more blood, and your body was boiling the water, and the shrapnel, and the chunks of meat… I thought you were dead."

"As you can see Red, I'm fine. A bit tender, but fine. That was just my body healing all the damage done to it over my life." I looked up a Pyrrha. "Thank you for unlocking my aura. I know that couldn't have been easy to watch, but I feel better than I have in a very long time thanks to that very thorough healing." She gave me a teary smile and nodded. "So, I've got a couple of hours to practice with my aura, and get used to it effects before initiation in the morning. Do you know of a gym or a practice room?"

A voice from outside the room spoke up. "Mr. Six, you should really get some rest. Your body was just put under immense stress. I don't advise putting any more on it," Ozpin spoke as he walked into the room."

I waved him off. "You of all people should know just how durable I am. But since you are here, can you point me to a place I can get a few hours of practice in?"

Ozpin shook his head, wry smile on his face. "I guess, if you cannot be dissuaded, that it would be best if I sent someone to look after you. Ms. Rose, Ms. Nikos, and Ms. Xiao Long, would you kindly escort Mr. Six to the simulation room?" After getting a nod from all three, he handed Pyrrha a map, and marked the easiest path to the room. "I'll expect all of you to be on the cliff behind Beacon, so please try not to stay out too late." His piece spoken, he left the room.

I unwrapped Ruby's arms from around me, and stood up. "Well girls, lead the way."

XxXxXxX

"Yaaaannnnggg! Its not like that! He's just a friend!" Yang let out a snicker at her sister's response to her teasing.

"Are you sure? You already call him Tom, and he has a pet name for you."

I looked over at Ruby's rapidly reddening face, and decide to join in on the teasing. I put a look of exaggerated hurt on my face. "Only friends? Red, how could you be so cruel? I was even going to let you hold my weapon since you asked, but now you say we're just friends?"

Yang began to laugh, "Rubes!? You only just met the man, and already asking to handle his weapon! How bold!" I could feel the heat coming off of her atomic blush. Yang began to laugh uproariously. I was laughing pretty hard myself, and even Pyrrha was stifling a snicker.

"Guuuuyyyyss! Stoppppp!" She whined, and hid her face with her hood and cape.

I patted her on the head. "Awww, don't be like that Red, we are just giving you a hard time." We rounded a corner and came upon our destination. We entered the large room and Pyrrha pulled me over to the console on the wall of the massive room

"Put your hand here, it will sync the aura reader to you, and shut the simulation down if your aura reaches the red." I did as instructed, and a menu popped up. "Now select your difficulty, and you will have 5 minutes to ready yourself. You won't die, but try not to get injured to badly to participate in the initiation. And if you are lucky, you might even discover your Semblance."

I waved her off, and replied, "I already know my Semblance. It is called True Likeness. It allows me to permanently copy anybody's Semblance, as long as I have had skin contact with them."

A heartbeat of silence.

"WHAT?!" all three of the girls shouted in shock.

"Wait, is that not a common thing? People don't have copycat Semblances?"

Pyrrha shook her head. "No. As a matter of fact, it should be theoretically impossible. No soul should be able to mimic another well enough to have the exact same semblance, even twin's Semblances are usually different in some way. This is completely unheard of. Who have you copied?"

"You, Yang, Ruby, and Glynda."

She nodded at me, still a bit shellshocked. "Well, I guess it is time to see what you can do. When ever you are ready, select the difficulty of your choice. We will be watching from the observation window." The three girls turned and walked out the door, and up the stairs.

'_Hmm. I guess I aught to give the girls a show.' _I selected the maximum difficulty, and watched the count down begin. I pulled my PipPad out of my pocket, and selected my armor. I went with my enchanted heavy metal armor set, sans helmet, with unarmed, AP regen, and speed enhancements with my ballistic weave enhanced army fatigues underneath. Then I equipped a pair of ballistic fists, and then planning to work my way up to my firearms. I needed to see the true extent of my new abilities. Then, I dropped a few hardened circular saw blades that I usually used with my junk jet. I closed my eyes and began to focus on them, reaching out with my mind trying to feel them with Magnesis. It took a moment, but I finally felt them, and then I picked them up, and allowed them to orbit around my body, as I began to go through a kata, and trying to manipulate the blades at the same time. It took a minute, but I was confident that I would be able to fight and move the blades at the same time. Then I tossed them back to the ground, and began to focus on my legs. I felt _something _shift, and I took off at a dead sprint. Which was probably a bad idea to do indoors, seeing as how I shattered the sound barrier. After running around for a bit to get a feel for my new speed, and how to stop and slow down, I began to circulate my aura, trying to figure out its limits. I could use it as a shield, I could make it heal me rapidly, and I could use it to reinforce my weapons and armor.

"**Beginning simulation in 3…"**

I focused my aura on my ballistic fists.

"**2…"**

I bent my knees, ready to take off.

"**1… START!"**

A group of large pitch-black elephants, with bone white masks over their faces, fazed into existence.

A feral, bloodthirsty grin split my face, and I took off with the crack of a sonic boom, and a flurry of crimson rose petals.

XxXxXxX

**Yes, I know, it's a bit unoriginal as far as semblances go, but it was the best I could come up with to fit the way your character works in Fallout. Like it? Hate it? Think I should burn in hell? Let me know in a review. You will find out the teams in the next chapter. Peace!**


	3. Chapter 3

_**I own nothing save original content.**_

_**I apologize for the lack of updates. I work 60+ hours a week, and have been in a pretty rough headspace for the last few weeks. **_

XxXxXxXx

I rammed my gauntleted fist into the face mask of the massive elephant-like Grimm. The force of the blow pushed the fell beast back a dozen yards. I let gravity do its job, and pull me back to the ground as I charged my fist with an extraordinary amount of aura, before rocketing back towards it as soon as I hit the ground, and dodging the trumpeting sonic blasts shot at me by the others. Black petals trailing behind me, I once again slammed my fist into the same spot, and let loose with the aura I built up.

"Mountain Crusher!"

An explosion of energy leapt forth from my fist on impact, turning the beast back into particles of hard light. As I landed, a strange bear-like Grimm tried to take my head off with a swipe of his car-sized paw. I ducked under the swipe, and landed a combo of aura and ballistically enhanced punches to its gut, shattering the construct. I teleported behind a wolf Grimm with VATS, and cratered its skull. Then I jumped back to gain some distance, and stowed my ballistic fists, swapping them out for the Blade of the West I pried from Launius' cold dead hands.

"Now, lets test how my abilities affect my melee weapons." I reinforced the chrome-steel alloy blade with aura, and compressed the edge with Magnesis. Then I vanished in a flurry of petals, and reappeared behind a pack of beowulves, the entire group bursting into light.

"Oh, hell yeah! Speed plus super sharp blade equals OP." I raised my hand in a casual gesture, and halted the foot of the goliath trying to crush me, and tossed it away. "Only downside is I am definitely going to have to forge a new blade." I inspected my sword, and saw several severe chips in the edge. "Definitely not going to use my 1000-Cold-Nights until I reinforce it with some stronger alloys. Now let's try my guns." I equipped a pair of sawed of double barrel shotguns, both with the two-shot effect, and teleported to the goliath I had tossed, seeing it trying to stand. I appeared in front of its face, brought both shotguns to bear, and cranked all 4 triggers, unleashing a hail of explosive buckshot into it.

"You know," I began to speak, as the creature's corpse dissolved into light. "That would have been nasty as hell if these things were flesh and blood." I let my shotguns vanish into the Cube, and then withdrew one of the only completely custom-built firearms in my collection. A massive railgun-anti-tank rifle hybrid. 6-foot-long, with several accelerator cores down the length of the barrel, and simple single-shot bolt action, this thing was an absolute beast, meant for downing Vertibirds, cracking power armor and putting down the larger abominations. It fired a solid tungsten cylinder, 2 inches long, and 1 inch in diameter, at Mach 10. It was built for use with power armor, both to handle the extreme recoil, and to power it, although, it was more than capable of being powered by just sticking a fusion core in it, which I was currently taking advantage of. Instead of a standard pistol grip, I had bent some steel bars, into the vague shape of motorcycle handlebars, welded them halfway down the barrel, and made the trigger so that brake handles on both bars had to be depressed to fire. Then I put AA spiderweb sights on it, and shaped the stock so it really locked into the shoulder. But the best part? I enchanted it with bottomless. I never had to cycle the action, and the fusion core never ran out of charge. I brought the beast of a weapon to bear, and began to charge it up. The air in the room buzzed with static, the smell of ozone overpowering. Then, when I felt the charge was acceptable, I began to pull the trigger.

"Dragon-Fi- "

"Simulation override, code, Goodwitch."

"**Override accepted. Shutting simulation down."**

'_Shit, I got carried away. Forgot I was indoors.'_

I reached up and cycled open the bolt on the monstrous rifle, and ejected the tungsten round, then allowed the built-up charge to dissipate.

"Mr. Six, what are you thinking? Firing a weapon like that indoors. You could have caused serious damage to the school, or even worse, injured someone." Glynda was glaring at me heavily. I could almost feel the anger in her gaze. "I expected better of you."

I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry about that Glynda, I got a bit carried away. With my aura unlocked, I am so much stronger than I was, and I was really getting into trying to test my new limits. It's been a while since I got to cut loose, and just fight like that. Kinda lost myself to the excitement."

"Just try to be more careful in the future Mr. Six. That railrifle of yours is a formidable weapon. I felt the static build up from down the hall." At my nod, she gave me one last disapproving look, then turned and walked away, and back down the hall.

Before I could do anything else, I was once again impacted by a living missile.

'_This is going to happen often isn't it?'_

The red- and black-haired girl began questioning me rapid fire, as Pyrrha and Yang walked into the simulator, slight looks of awe on their faces.

"What was that gun you pulled out where did you get it what's its namewhataboutthosegauntlets didyoumakethemwhydoyoucalloutthenamesofyourattackssometimeswhatdidusingmySemblancefeellikehowdidyoutossthatGoliathlikethat?" She took in a deep breath, and panted, clearly worn out from that tirade.

I looked up at Yang, who was suppressing laughter, with pleading in my eyes. That only made her laugh harder. So, I awkwardly patted Ruby on the head.

"Well Red, in order, that gun was a railrifle, I built it, its name is the Dragon-Fire Crossbow, the gauntlets are ballistic fists, I bought them from a friend of mine, most of my attacks have a splash zone, so I call them out so my allies can get out of said splash zone, using your Semblance was almost indescribable. The rushing of the air past you, the aura pushing your muscles to their utmost. It's fantastic, and I don't think I will ever tire of using it. And I was able to toss that Goliath because I'm strong."

Yang took this moment to speak up, finally recovered from her laughter. "I'd say that is an understatement. The only other person I've ever seen able to do that is my dad, and he has a super strength Semblance." She shuddered. "Imagine how strong you would be if you managed to copy it."

I nodded, already trying to plot a way to shake the man's hand.

'_Super strength, you will be mine.'_

"Alright, I think that is enough practice for the night, I should be perfectly fine tomorrow now that I've got a handle on Ruby and Pyrrha's Semblances, and I'm sure you girls are beat, especially with… the aura fiasco." All three girls visibly flinched at that. "Yeah, let's make our way back to the auditorium, and you girls get some sleep."

XxXxXxXx

I sat on the ground, leaned against a wall in the auditorium, Yang, Ruby, and Pyrrha sleeping within arm's reach, and was sorting through my inventory to kill time.

'_I need to try to be a bit conservative with my fusion cores. I only have a few thousand of them, and I have no idea is Remnant has a suitable replacement. Maybe I can convert my power armor to run on Dust? Hmmm, that may work. And I need to see about making my explosive launchers work with Dust as well. Especially my Red Glare rounds. The Artillery Suit will need all the ammo I can manage to scrounge up if I ever have to use it. Thank god that 6 weapons mounted to the suit make it all count as one weapon for enchanting purposes, otherwise I don't think I'd have enough fusion cores to make the damn thing viable at all.' _ I was about to continue taking stock of the contents of my Cube, when Pyrrha sat bolt upright, tears in her eyes, and on the verge of hysterics, franticly searching the room, as if looking for someone. I Reached my hand out, and lightly set my hand on her shoulder. She immediately started, and whirled around, eyes wide in panic.

I whispered in the quietest and most soothing voice I could muster. "Pyrrha? Are you okay?"

Almost instantly, some of the panic left her eyes, but the tears only came harder. She nodded jerkily, and wrapped her arms around herself, and shivered, as if to ward off a chill. I sighed, and pulled her close to me, and wrapped my arms around her. She hesitated for just a moment, then leaned into me and laid her head on my shoulder, her shivering still apparent. "Nightmare?" I felt her nod. "Was it about unlocking my aura?" Another, more hesitant nod. "Do you want to talk about it? It will help, I promise." A long pause. Then she shook her head. "Alright. But you should really talk about it. If not with me, then with somebody. I promise, it will help." A nod. She began to pull away, but I kept my arm wrapped around her. I could feel her thinking, before she let the tension drain from her body, and she slumped against me. We stayed like that for a while, before her breathing leveled out as she fell asleep. I let go of her with one arm, and readjusted the both of gently for comfort.

An hour passed, before the second of my new friends lurched upright, tears streaming down her face, shoulders shaking with barely suppressed sobs. Unable to reach out to her without waking Pyrrha, I used Magnesis to grab the zipper of her sleeping bag, and pulled her to me, and wrapped my free arm around her. She began to struggle, panic visible in her unseeing eyes. I whispered to her. "Red. Ruby. Calm down. Its just me, Tom. Everything is okay. Calm down. I am right here." She paused in her struggles, processing my words, before she too slumped against me, all the energy drained from her body and began to quietly sob. I began to whisper quite nothings to her, until she finally exhausted her tears, and slipped into the quite embrace of sleep. Both of the sleeping girls snuggled deeper into my sides.

'_Well, this is awkward. Hopefully Yang stays asleep. And I just jinxed myself.' _As if my thoughts sent a challenge to the universe, the buxom blonde chose that exact moment to stir, and sat up. She looked around while rubbing the sleep from her eyes, clearly looking for the tiny girl currently snuggled into my left side. It took a few moments for her to look over at me. A brief look of confusion came over her face before I mouthed the word 'nightmare' to her. Her eyes softened in sympathy. She then pointed towards Pyrrha, to which I nodded. Another look of sympathy. We sat in comfortable silence for a moment before she shrugged, and crawled over to me, dragging her blanket along with her. I looked at her, confusion clear on my face, before I recognized the look on her's.

It was the look of someone about to do something they were going to find hilarious.

Just a moment later, she gently plopped herself down on my lap, and cover the four of us with her blanket, then leaned back against my chest. She turned just enough to look me in the eye and grin, before she snuggled down, and let sleep take her.

'_You know, I was kind of expecting her to freak out, because she is probably the over-protective sister type. I was not expecting her to plop herself in my lap.' _I shrugged inwardly, and let my mind drift in a light doze, enjoying the warmth of another for the first time in centuries.

XxXxXxXx

The first light had just began to creep into the auditorium as I awoke. I used my Telekinesis to retrieve my PipPad, and check the time.

6:13 AM

'_Good. That gives us an hour to get dressed, and 45 minutes to warm up. I should probably wake up the girls.'_

I decided to start with Yang. With another application of Telekinesis, I began to poke Yang's forehead repeatedly. After the first few pokes, she tried to swat away the Telekinetic finger poking her head, but failed. After a few more, she turned and buried her face in my chest.

'_Hehehehe, this is gonna be good!' _

I gave her a good pinch on the ass, Telekinetically of course. This caused an immediate reaction.

She leapt to her feet, ready to knock whoever had the gall to pinch her butt the hell out. She was confused to find nobody within range to do so. Then a look of realization dawned on her and look down at me with a cocked eyebrow.

"What seems to be the problem, Yang?" I looked far to innocent to not be guilty. Sugar wouldn't have melted in my mouth.

"Somebody pinched my ass. Was it you?"

"Gasp, how could you accuse me of such a dastardly thing?"

"Uh huh. Well whatever. Do you know what time it is?"

I laughed and replied, "Its 6:15. I plan on being at the cliff by 7:30 so I can warm up a bit. You go get ready, I'll wake Ruby and Pyrrha."

She nodded, and walked away, but not before warning me not to pinch Ruby's ass.

I turned to look at the peacefully sleeping girl to my left, and began to nudge her with my Telekinesis. "Red. Its time to wake up." She stirred a bit. I nudged her a bit harder. "Come on Ruby. You need to wake up hun."

She scrunched up her eyes, and buried her face in my side to block out the light, and mumbled sleepily, "Just 5 more minutes daddy."

I had to fight really hard to suppress a laugh. "Come on Ruby, you need to wake up. We've only got an hour before we need to be at the cliff." The barely suppressed laughter was clear in my voice. Finally, she sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, before she realized where she was, what was going on, and just who it was who she called daddy. Her face turned as red as her namesake, and she took off in a burst of pink rose petals. This time I was unable to suppress my laughter, which woke up Pyrrha. It only took a moment to catch her bearings upon waking, and then began to apologize for waking me with her nightmare, then falling asleep on me. I patted her on the head, and replied, "Its no problem Pyrrha. I was awake anyway. And trust me, I know how bad nightmares can be. Especially after what you saw. I've seen plenty of things that still haunt my dreams on the rare occasions I sleep. Just remember. That was not your fault. You had no way of knowing what would happen to me. And if you ever need to talk about it, I'm always here." She only nodded, a grateful, slightly teary smile on her face. "Good, now, why don't you go get ready, and I'll get breakfast ready?"

XxXxXxXx

I walked into the locker room, after prepping a nice, fruit-based breakfast, to see Yang, dressed only in her panties, trying to get Ruby to change clothes, but the girl was adamantly refusing to do so where she could be seen by anyone who happened to walk in. I sighed, and used my PipPad to pull a fully assembled tent that would be big enough for Ruby to get dressed in from my Cube, and set it on the ground. "Here you go Red. Nobody will see you in this tent." She gave me a grateful look, then entered the tent, and began to change clothes. Yang looked at me with a pout, arms crossed under her naked bosom.

"I was trying to get her to stop being so body shy. She's gonna have to get over it soon, since we will have teams soon, and the rooms are co-ed."

I gave her a look, and replied, "It will be alright. I plan on us being partners anyway, so she will always have the tent to use."

Yang gave me a mischievous grin. "You trying to make a move on Ruby?" I heard an embarrassed squeak from the tent beside us.

I laughed, and replied, "Well, she did ask to hold my 'weapon'. She also slept with me last night, and then called my daddy this morning, so you could say she is making the move on me." I could almost feel the heat coming off of her blush through the tent.

Yang gave a fake gasp, a wide grin on her face, and teased Ruby. "Rubes, how kinky! Calling a guy, who is not your father, daddy!"

"Toooommm! Yannnnggg! That was an accident!" she said, an embarrassed whine in her voice.

I gave a good belly laugh at her misfortune, and unequipped my nightwear. "I know it was, but it's still funny." I stepped into the shower to have quick rinse, as Yang joined me.

"I have a serious question for you Yang."

She looked at me curiously. "Yeah, what's up?"

"Why are the people here okay with their children being in a situation where co-ed nudity is almost assured? Where I come from, this would be highly frowned upon."

For a moment, the only sound that could be heard was running water. Then, finally she spoke. "Its not really something people are 'okay' with, so to speak, it is just seen as necessary. You know how the Great War wiped out almost 90% of the male population? Well, it was even worse for Huntsmen. By the end if the war, there were only a handful left, and it is well known that the children of Huntsmen both possess more powerful auras, and are far more likely to become Huntsmen themselves."

"Ah, I get it. It is to encourage sex. More sex, more Huntsmen. Also, probably why there is usually a 1:3 male to female ratio on teams. I'm assuming polygamy is not only legal, but actively encouraged?" She responded with a nod.

"Where are you from anyway? As far as I know, this is the case all over the world."

"That my friend, is a secret. For now, at least." I turned off the water and toweled off, staunchly ignoring the puppy-dog eyes she was giving me. After a moment, she realized she wasn't going to get any thing out of me, so she turned off her shower, and walked out to the locker room with a huff.

I equipped my Riot Armor, with featherfall enchantment, and walked back out into the main locker room, where Yang was currently getting dressed while Ruby was standing near the tent.

"Thanks for letting me use your tent Tom. I still don't know how Yang can get undressed in front of people like that."

I ruffled her hair. "Anytime Red." I tossed the tent back into my Cube. "Now that Yang is dressed, let's find Pyrrha."

"Hello!" spoke said girl from behind us.

"Well, speak of the Devil, and she shall appear. Morning Pyrrha, you ready?"

She nodded, a confident smile on her face.

"Good. Now, out in the hall, I prepped a table of fruit. Feel free to help yourselves. I am going out to the cliff to warm up a bit." I turned, walked towards the door, and gave a wave over my shoulder. See you girls in a bit."

XxXxXxXx

My eyes closed, I took in a deep breath of the cool morning air, and circulated my aura around my body, activating Yang's Semblance, causing my hair to dance in the wind like black flames. I activated Pyrrha's Semblance, causing the iron particles in the sand around me to begin floating around me. Ruby's was next, the blood red petals dancing around me, smoldering from the heat I was putting off. And lastly, I floated rocks with Glynda's causing them to rapidly orbit me. I held this for 10 minutes, just barely outpacing my aura regen.

"Holy shit! How are you doing that?!" exclaimed a shocked voice from behind me.

I slowly dropped my Semblances, and then turned to face the newcomer, and checked his name with VATS. "I just that badass, Mr. Arc." I walked over and shook his hand. "The name is Thomas Six, but I go by Tom." I could tell that he was confused that I knew his name, but he decided to ignore it.

"Your Semblance is pretty awesome. All of the Semblances I've seen pretty much do just one thing. Like my mom's Aural Regeneration, or dad's Amplification. But you were doing like… 5 different things."

I gave him a shrug. "I'm not really sure what my limits are, but as far as I can tell, my Semblance is Telekinesis. The burning rose petals is just a visual quirk."

He nodded, then said, "Well it was nice to meet you Tom, but I'm gonna let you get back to whatever it was you were doing, and go hype myself up. Peace!" With that, he turned and walked to the edge of the cliff and began to mutter to himself.

'_What a strange guy. Eh, oh well, I'm sufficiently warmed up now, and the girls oughta be here any second.' _As I finished the thought, I felt the now familiar impact of Ruby glomping me at transonic speeds.

"Hey Red. Did you enjoy the fruit?"

She nodded vigorously. "Those were the best strawberries I've ever had. Where did you get them?"

"I grew them."

Yang piped up, "You garden? Didn't take you for the green thumb type."

"I mostly grew edibles. Potatoes. Pineapples. Carrots. You know, that kind of thing."

Pyrrha gave me an impressed look. "Not many people chose to live off the land. Most rely on farmers, and just buy produce from a store. That is a very useful talent."

I shrugged. "I just had a lot of time on my hands, that's all. I really don't need to eat. I mostly grew them for something to do. I put most of the food I grew in my Cube here. Its great for keeping food fresh."

Ruby looked up at me hopefully. "Do you have any more strawberries?"

I gave her a pat on the head, and chuckled a response. "Of course, Red. I have more of them than you could ever eat."

Yang laughed at that. "You haven't seen her actually eat them. I doubt you could have grown enough in an entire lifetime."

I gave her a look that said, 'I know something you don't know' and replied, "Yang, I believe you underestimate the amount of time I had." I looked at the clock on my PipPad. 7:55 am. "Alright girls, 5 minutes till. We should make our way over to the start zone."

XxXxXxXx

"Today, you will choose your partner for the next 4 years of your life, and likely the rest of your careers as Huntsmen, so it is in your best interests to be paired with someone you will get along well with. That being said, the first person you make eye contact with upon landing will be your partner. Good luck, and I hope you have a landing strategy."

'_Landing strategy? What…' _I looked down at the metal plate underneath my feet. _'Well, good thing I went with my Featherfall Greaves.'_

If looks could kill, the glare I sent Ozpin would have killed him, and wiped his family line from the annals of history.

_SPROING!_

The spring-loaded metal plate under me sprung, launching me far into the distance.

'_You know, flying is kinda… peaceful.' _My peace lasted of all of 10 seconds.

"**BIRDY NO!"**

"**Thank you!"**

Then came the rapid blasts of shotgun fire, a .50 caliber rifle being fired, and trees crashing.

I shrugged, and decided to add to the noise. I equipped my customized Orbital Drop power armor, and fired a burst of my jet pack to kill my forward momentum, and then plummeted to the ground.

_**CRASH!**_

I may or may not have left a 10-foot deep crater in my wake.

After jet packing my way out of the crater, I reequipped my Riot Armor, and set off in the direction of my quest marker, hoping to meet Ruby on the way.

XxXxXxXx

"CAN EVERYBODY CHILL THE HELL OUT FOR TWO SECONDS?!" shouted Yang.

'_One…. Two….'_

Cue girlish screaming.

"Oh no, some girl is in trouble!" exclaimed the hammer wielding, hyperactive ginger named Nora.

Just as she said that, I heard the tell-tale sound of somebody falling from a great height. I looked up and met Ruby's eyes.

"Tom! A little help here! Please!"

A few deft flicks of my fingers, and I was back in a set of my power armor, and I launched myself skyward with the jetpack.

"I gotcha Red." Just before she impacted the hard metal of my suit, I equipped a 3-piece suit I had the obligatory Featherfall on, and caught her princess style. As gravity began to take hold on us once again, I said, "Hey there Red. Just dropping in?"

She groaned as if in actual pain. "Come on, not you too." I could feel us beginning to speed up. "I get enough of bad puns from Yang."

Only a moment later we alighted on the ground. "Come on, puns are Yang good humor." I set her down as she only groaned harder. "So, you got a partner?" She gave me a toothy grin.

"I do now." She sped over to the pedestals, and grabbed the white knight, and sped back.

"Nice. Alright, that's- "

"JAUNE! MOVE!"

I heard Pyrrha shout, and spun around just time to see the boy from the cliff barely manage to dodge a Rad- I mean DeathStalker's stinger. Quickly I pulled out my anti-material rifle, loaded it with explosive rounds, and put a mag in its head with VATS.

It didn't stand a chance.

"Thank you!" Jaune turned to look at me, and gave me a grateful smile.

"No problem, man. Now, why do you go grab your relic, and- "

The earth began to quake in time with crashing footsteps.

_**RRRROOOOOOOOAAAARRRRRR!**_

My blood ran cold. _'No… God… Please no!' _I recognized that roar.

I spun around, and came face to face with a being straight out of my nightmares.

It was a 40-foot-tall lizard, with beady red eyes behind its bone white mask. Its horns curved wickedly, and its man-sized claws were sharper than an obsidian blade. Red saliva dripped from its foot-long teeth.

I shouted, "Everyone, get back to the cliff! I'll hold it off!"

Ruby turned to look at me, fear evident in her eyes. "W-what is that thing?"

I turned to her, a grimace on my face.

"That, is a Deathclaw Empress."

Pyrrha gasped in shock, and exclaimed, "Isn't that the thing that nearly cut you in half?"

I nodded. "It was. And the last time I faced it, it took an army 3 days to bring it down. You all need to run. I'll keep its attention." I pulled out my Dragon-Fire Crossbow, and brought it to bear. "Now, GO! Y'all won't stand a chance against this thing! Tell Ozpin to call in every single hunter he can get his hands on. Call in the army, the hunters, everybody. I'll hold it off for as long as I can." I turned and gave them a grin. "It was nice to have met you all." My piece spoken, I took off in a blast of rose petals.

The air crackled with static, the smell of ozone thick as I let off shot after shot with my Dragon-Fire Crossbow all the while running in circles around the beast. I hazarded a glance back at where I had left the other, and smiled when I saw them running back to the cliff.

"Good. They are getting out of my splash zone." I equipped my Mobile Artillery Suit, and slid to a stop, its sheer mass halting my forward momentum. The suit was a customized T-60 with a black and gold paint job. But the most important parts of it were its inbuilt weaponry. A pair of Red Glare launchers mounted on either shoulder, a pair of SMMG's mounted on the arms, and a pair of 20mm grenade machine guns mounted on either side of the stomach of the armor.

A feral smile split my face underneath my helmet, as I turned on VATS, and hit the beast with everything the suit could dish out.

"Hellfire Rain!"

High Explosive. Incendiary. White Phosphorus. Armor Piercing. Fragmentation.

Thousands of rounds, rockets and grenades.

Five full minutes of a bombardment heavy enough to wipe a small country off the map.

The smoke and fire began to die down as I stepped out of my armor.

_**ROOOOOAAAARRR!**_

I threw myself into the air with my Telekinesis just in time to keep from being crushed beneath the massive paw of the fell creature.

I took a good look at it, one of my many perks reveling how much health it had left.

_3/4 of a bar._

My most powerful weapon short of my MIRV only did 1/4 of its health.

I dodged another swipe of a gargantuan paw.

I cast a look around to make sure everybody was clear. Thankfully, I was free to go all out.

'_God, please forgive me for what I am about to unleash upon this world. But I don't think anything short of a few nukes will put this bitch down.' _

I pulled out a special backpack I had made for just such an occasion as this. Twelve mini-nukes, bundled together, and synced to a clacker.

Another swipe dodged, but this time, I landed on the hand, and began to run up its arm. I obscured its sight with copious amounts of iron sand, and it began to roar in pain.

"GOTCHA BITCH!" With a Telekinetically enhanced throw, I tossed the bag into its now open maw, and plugged its airhole with my sand, and then leapt free. Then, burning off the last of aura, I used Glynda's Semblance to encase the creature in a stone mausoleum.

CLACK!

**FWUMP!**

I watched the enemy indicator for a moment, waiting with bated breath, before the red dot blinked out of existence. I waited for another 5 minutes or so, before deciding the beast was actually dead.

'_I am most definitely going to loot that corpse. Those claws would make for a wicked sword.'_

So, I equipped my HAZMAT suit, and made a rudimentary air lock with a wave of my hand to keep as much of the radiation locked inside the box as I could. I checked the now cooling corpse of the creature that haunted my dreams for a very long time.

20x Deathclaw Empress nails

400 yards of Deathclaw Empress hide

90x Deathclaw Empress teeth

1x Deathclaw Empress Mask

Various bones

'_Nice. Those claws and bones will make some pretty nice weapons. They even seem to be made of some kind of bio-metal.'_

I tossed all the loot into my Cube, and exited the heavily irradiated tomb, equipped a set of daywear, and leaned up against the side of the block of stone to rest while I waited on Ozpin to arrive.

'_Man, I never expected aura to be such a power up. It took me and 10,000 men 3 days to bring down the one back home, and it was weaker than this one. It may have been overkill for me to try and call in the army.'_

After 15 minutes or so of waiting, I finally saw several bullheads crest the horizon, so I sent up a flare, and waited for them to land.

XxXxXxXx

"So, let me get this straight. You said, and I am quoting Ms. Rose on this, 'Call all the hunters you can, call the army, everybody,' then, we call in 20 of the best hunters we have, some off of important missions, and you have already killed it?" Glynda all but screamed at me, apoplectic because of my supposed waste of time and funds.

I sighed, and pulled one of its claws out of my cube. "This is one claw of the beast I just fought. Yes, I called everyone in, because I had no way of knowing I would be able to kill it. The last one of those things I fought, it took an army of 10,000 men 3 days to bring it down. And this one was roughly twice as strong. Of course, I assumed I wasn't going to manage to kill it. Hell, the only reason I was able kill the beast is because I managed to drop 20 kilotons of ordinance down its throat. I fully expected to die trying to hold it off long enough for you all to arrive." I threw the claw back in storage. "So yeah, forgive me for underestimating the power of aura."

She looked me contemplatively, then nodded, and said, "I can let it slide this once," then turned and walked back onto the Bullhead waiting to take us back to Beacon.

'_Ugh, what a pain. What the hell was I supposed to do, let those kids fight that monster and hope we managed to kill it?' _I shook my head, and laughed sardonically, then Cubed the MAS, and loaded up on the Bullhead.

XxXxXxXx

I sat in the auditorium, mostly ignoring the team announcements, until I heard Pyrrha's name called.

"Now, unfortunately, once of our students has dropped out, leaving his partner alone. Fortunately, another student was without a partner, but still retrieved a relic. So, we will be placing the two together. Pyrrha Nikos, Weiss Schnee, Lie Rin, and Nora Valkyrie will be Team PLNW(platinum) led by Pyrrha Nikos."

I patted Pyrrha on the shoulder in congratulation and gave her a smile, then turned my attention back Ozpin when I heard my name.

"And finally, Thomas Six, Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long will be Team SLVR(silver), led by Thomas Six."

Pyrrha gave me a congratulatory smile, and then yang punched my shoulder, a large grin on her face.

"That concludes the team announcements. If your name was not called, I am sorry to say, you did not pass. That being said, you will have one week until classes start in order to familiarize yourselves with the campus and your team. You will receive your room numbers to your scrolls. Goodnight."

I turned to my new team, and instructed them to wait until the auditorium cleared out.

XxXxXxXx

"Here it is girls. Room 101," I deadpanned. "By the way, our headmaster has a horrible sense of humor."

Yang gave me a curious look, but I just waved her off and said, "I'll tell you later." I passed my PipPad over the scroll reader, and the door opened. "In the meantime, lets get settled in for tonight. I really need a rest after fighting that fucking thing." I walked over to the bed nearest the wall, equipped a set of my nightwear, and collapsed. _'I know I don't need sleep, but damn it, after fighting that fucking thing again, it sounds really nice right now.'_

After a few minutes of shuffling around, the girls finally settled in. "Goodnight Team SLVR. Tomorrow, I'll tell you all my story."

After a few "Nights," in reply, the room fell silent, and I started to doze off, before I was struck by a sudden thought.

"Where did the 'V' come from?"

XxXxXxXx


End file.
